Theodore Wratislaw
Theodore William Graf Wratislaw (27 April 1871 - 13 September 1933),Theodore William Graf Wratislaw, VictorianBibliography.com. Web, Dec. 15, 2013. Count of the Holy Roman Empire, was an English poet and prose author. Life Wratislaw was born at Rugby, Warwickshire, England.Samuel Shaw, Review: Theodore Wratislaw – Fragments of a Life, Edwardian Culture Network, January 3, 2017. Web, Mar. 10, 2017. He was educated at Rugby School from 1885 to 1888. He entered his father's law office and in 1893 passed his solicitor's final exams. He had to work to earn his living as a solicitor at Somerset House, describing life there as "penal servitude". In 1892 he published at his own expense two slim volumes of poems - Love's Memorial and Some Verses. In 1893 he published Caprices (now available unexpurgated). Wratislaw was published in the Strand Magazine and the Yellow Book along with such as Henry James, Arnold Bennett, Oscar Wilde and other fin de siècle contributors. Orchids (a double entendre for the Greek word 'orchis' - meaning 'testicle') was published in 1896. In 1927 he moved to York Lodge, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey (commemorated now by a blue plaque - the house has been sympathetically restored by the current owner) and his last work there was an account of his visit to Wilde's home at Goring-on-Thames. Just before his death in September 1933, Wratislaw re-visited Goring and had his account only at the proof stage; however a 1979 edition with foreword by Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman, edited by G Krishnamurti and entitled Oscar Wilde - a memoir, has been published. Other works include The Pity of Love a tragedy based on the love story of Sophia Dorothea, the wife of King George I, and Philip von Konigsmark; also Algernon Charles Swinburne: a study (1900) which was his best known work in his lifetime. Wratislaw's translations of Two Ballades by Francois Villon was published in 1933, with only 60 copies being printed and intended for his friends and sent out to them by his widow, Ada, after his death. Earlier on, he had written to a friend that he was writing a resume of his uncle's (Reverend A. H. Wratislaw- headmaster of Felsted 1850-55) translation into English from the Slavonic of their ancestor's - Baron Vratislav von Mitrovitz - account of his life as a galley slave of the Turks, when he was aged only 15–18 years in the 16th century. Count Marc Wratislaw von Mitrovitz, as an attache of the Austrian Embassy in Paris attended the marriage of Marie Antoinette to the future Louis XVI, then came to settle in England in 1770, becoming French master at Rugby School. Descendant, Theodore Wratislaw's knowledge of classical Greek was extensive. He edited and corrected Thomas Taylor's translation of "Plato's Republic", copies of the Wratislaw edition now only available when printed to individual order in the USA. (The ancestral title Baron or hrabe of Mitrovitz refers to the Hungarian nobility. The graefliche title was the Holy Roman Emperor's 1701 award to Chancellor Jan Vratislav von Mitrovitz - see St Jakob's, Prague). The 'von Mitrovitz' was dropped by the second generation after the family were anglicised. (Sources: archivist, York Lodge.) Publications Poetry *''Love's Memorial'' (anonymous). London & Rugby, UK: George E. Over, 1892. *''Some Verses'' (by "the author of Love's Memorial"). London & Rugby, UK: George E. Over, 1892. *''Caprices: Poems''. London: Gay & Bird, 1893. *''Orchids: Poems''. London: Leonard Smithers, 1896. *''Selected Poems'' (edited by John Gawsworth). London: Grant Richards, 1935. Plays *''The Pity of Love: A tragedy. London: Swan Sonnenschein, 1895. Non-fiction *Algernon Charles Swinburne: A study. London: Greening, 1900. *''Three Nineties Studies: W.B. Yeats, John Gray, Aubrey Beardsley. Edinburgh: Tragara Press, 1900. *''Mate's Illustrated Rughy, etc.. Rugby, UK: 1906; second edition, 1907. *''Oscar Wilde: A memoir (edited by G. Krishnamurti; foreword by John Betjeman). London: Eighteen Nineties Society, 1979. Translated *Francois Villon, Two Ballades. Rugby, UK: George E. Over, 1933. Edited *''The Republic of Plato'' (translated by Thomas Taylor; edited with introduction by Wratislaw). London: Walter Scott, 1894. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Theodore Wratislaw, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Dec. 15, 2013. See also * List of British poets References * Professor R K R Thornton (2003) The search for Wratislaw * Ellman, Richard (1987) Oscar Wilde * Ellis, S M (1924) "A Poet of the Nineties" from Mainly Victorian and "Poets of the Shires" (1914). # Wratislaw, Theodore (1895) The Pity of Love, "Two Ballades" (ex Libris, York Lodge). # Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. # The Times Obituaries, September 1933. Notes External links ;Poems *"Orchids" *Wratislaw in A Victorian Anthology, 1837-1895: "The Music-Hall," "Expectation," "A Vain Desire" * Selected Poetry of Theodore William Graf Wratislaw (1871-1933) (5 poems) at Representative Poetry Online. * Theodore Wratislaw (1871-1933) at Sonnet Central (3 sonnets) * Theodore Wratislaw at PoemHunter (3 poems) *Theodore Wratislaw at Poetry Nook (90 poems) ;About * "Death of a Shrinking Violet" by James Conway, at Strange Flowers * "Theodore Wratislaw: Not Just A Case of Symons Lite" by Andrew Mangravite, at the Victorian Web *[https://edwardianculture.com/2017/01/03/review-theodore-wratislaw-fragments-of-a-life/ review of Theodore Wratislaw: Fragments of a life] Category:1871 births Category:1933 deaths Category:19th-century British people Category:20th-century British people Category:British poets Category:Wratislaw von Mitrowitz Category:British people of Czech descent Category:British people of Austrian descent Category:Counts of Austria Category:English poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:19th-century poets